AllFreeNovel
Share Us
They laugh.
Riley’s still watching me, so I shake my ass a little more.
And it earns me a very wolfish grin.
Joel approaches Riley so his eyes move away from mine and the song is ending, so my eyes scan the perimeter of the large, farmhouse chic decorated barn to see if I can find Bailey and Cicely. Last time I saw them, they were with some of the other ladies by the long dessert table.
I spot Cicely by one of the exits. I’ve got a view of her back, but can see she has a fistful of Lincoln’s t-shirt. I don’t know if her expression is angry or sexual, but I’d guess the latter with the hungry look on his face.
Hm.
My eyes move along, and I see Jase has my sister Dani pinned against the wall by the bar. I see his hand on her hip and his mouth by her ear. There’s a tipsy glow in Dani’s eyes as she laughs at whatever he’s saying to her. And about twenty or thirty feet away, leaning against the wall is Bailey. Watching Jase and Dani.
Jase tags my sister’s hand and grabs a bottle of wine from the bar, then, carrying the wine by the neck, pulls her out the nearest exit. And the look on Bailey’s face? It’s like the very last baby panda bear in the whole world was just shot in his fluffy forehead right in front of her eyes.
Bailey spins away and storms to the back hall that I already know is where some restrooms are, so I excuse myself from the dance circle, rush back to the throne, and grab my sparkly little cat face-shaped clutch from the table.
I kiss Riley, saying, “Right back. Little sorceress’s room is calling.” I rush to catch up with her and find her at the sink staring at her reflection.
“Hey? You okay?”
“No. Definitely not,” she says, adjusting her bra while blowing her hair out of her eyes. “Did you see who just left with your sister?”
“I did,” I say softly, giving her a look of apology.
“I’ve been pining for Jason Creed since before I grew boobs. I’m so done with watching him wrack up bedpost notches.”
“Shit. One sec.” I reach into my clutch and pull out my phone, setting the clutch on the counter.
I’m dialing. Straight to voicemail.
“Shit.” I begin to work on firing off a text.
I don’t have time to write a spell, gather what I need, and try to make something happen to stop those two from hooking up, because I know for a fact it’d go nowhere and do nothing good, so I’ll have to rely on technology.
“What’s wrong?” Bailey asks.
“One sec,” I say.
Dani, don’t hook up with Jase. Birthday request.
I immediately send another text to her.
Don’t refuse me. Say nothing but Bailey is head over heels and will be crushed if you do this. Thx. Xoxo.
I see an almost instant ‘read’ and know my sister lives on her phone and would ignore a phone call all day long but would never be able to resist checking a notification. A prime example of why I was a little stressed out earlier when everyone went quiet for so many hours.
“She won’t,” I say to Bailey. “Forget about it. Put it out of your mind. Let’s go dance and have a good time. But first, nature calls. Excuse me.” I hurry into the stall, lift my dress, haul down my underwear and sit. I’m realizing that I’m drunk all of a sudden, and feeling kind of proud of myself, like I saved the mood for Bailey at least a little.
When I come out of the stall, the bathroom is empty.
“Where’d she go?” I ask no one.
I wash my hands and then shake them dry before I dash out to go find her. I go the wrong way down the bathroom hall and see there’s an exit door propped open. I hear a voice out there and see the back of a guy talking on his phone. I spin around to go back the way I came.
Bailey is pouring herself a drink at the bar, so I join her.
“I’m such a dummy,” she mutters.
“Why?”
“I bought this pheromone perfume online and have gotten into his space every chance I’ve gotten tonight, but nothing. It did nothing.”
“Aw honey…” I pout and lean forward. “But you do smell good.”
“It’s hopeless, Erica.”
“Aw.” I give her a hug. “Wanna dance?” I ask. “Let’s cut up the proverbial rug out there. Shake your ass and see who notices.” I pull back and wiggle my eyebrows.
Stacy passes us, heading toward the bathroom. “Come dance with us when you get back,” I invite.
She smiles as she passes, but I’m pretty sure she’s nowhere near ready to dance like nobody’s watching.
“Bailey,” an attractive blonde greets in a way I can tell is a jab. As if Bailey’s name is a joke. Bailey’s expression sours.
